A gas turbine engine may be used to power various types of vehicles and systems. A particular type of gas turbine engine that may be used to power aircraft is a turbofan gas turbine engine. A turbofan gas turbine engine may include, for example, a fan section, a compressor section, a combustor section, a turbine section, and an exhaust section. The fan section induces air from the surrounding environment into the engine and accelerates a fraction of the air toward the compressor section. The remaining fraction of air is accelerated into and through a bypass plenum, and out the exhaust section. The compressor section, which may include high pressure compressors and low pressure compressors, raises the pressure of the air it receives from the fan section to a relatively high level.
Compressed air leaving the compressor section then enters the combustor section, where a ring of fuel nozzles injects a steady stream of fuel into a plenum. The injected fuel is ignited to produce highly-energized compressed air. The air then flows into and through the turbine section, causing turbine blades therein to rotate and generate mechanical energy. The air exiting the turbine section is exhausted from the engine via the exhaust section, and the energy remaining in the exhaust air aids the thrust generated by the air flowing through the bypass plenum.
Another portion of the compressed air may be directed from the compressor into a bleed port. The bleed port may be used to bleed the air to other components, such as to an anti-ice valve unit, which may operate by using the bleed air. An anti-ice valve unit includes groups of components used to de-ice aircraft surfaces, such as aircraft wings, and typically include at least a valve body and a valve element. A flowpath for the bleed air extends through the valve body, and the valve element is disposed in the flowpath. The valve element may be coupled to a pneumatic servo controller that regulates the pressure of the bleed air through the flowpath. In this regard, the pneumatic servo controller receives a portion of the bleed air from one or more tubes that communicate with the flowpath.
Although the aforementioned anti-ice valve units operate sufficiently in existing engines, they may be improved. In particular, because the bleed air from the compressor may be relatively high in temperature, certain parts of the anti-ice valve unit should be designed to accommodate such high temperatures without deleterious effects.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have components of valve units that may have a relatively long service life, even when repeatedly exposed to high temperatures. In addition, it is desirable for the valve components to remain relatively lightweight and to have a similar or smaller footprint than existing valve components. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the inventive subject matter will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the inventive subject matter and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the inventive subject matter